Stay Calm And Carry On
by purpledragon6
Summary: Story request from Elizabeth Smith: They would soon all want something that would last forever. A home, and a family for that matter. Jessie's journey from the donation box to the path that would soon lead her to a place that she could call home.


**A/N: For my reviewer: Elizabeth Smith. **

**Her idea was that Jessie finds a puppy named Crystal and takes her in, since she knows what it's like to be abandoned and be without a home or family. **

* * *

Jessie sat in the dark box; the same one that had haunted her every nightmare for so many years already. It horrified her, because during this deafening silence, she had time to think, and had time to remember. She had lost so much in the past while, her owner, the life she knew, and her happiness for that matter. For the little doll whose home was once a thrift shop, those things were what made up her life, her very existence, but without them... Well, she didn't know what to do without them. She was so reliant on them, that even in her dreams, she would dream of the day Emily had gotten her, and sometimes, she would stay in a dream so long that she was able to dream her life all over again. Every hug, sleepover, tear, secret, confession, stage, every thing that had happened to Emily that she just so happened to share.

Now, it was over and gone forever now. Now, her only doll house was a cardboard box labeled 'Donations', and her only friend was an old record player and a pair of shoes. That was until the day, that another little girl skipped towards the box, and Jessie's heart rose but soon dropped when she realized that not only was the little girl not Emily, but also that she was only there to donate whatever was in her own little box.

The box was decorated in little pink cherry blossoms and thick brown branches. The box itself was a pale green color and on the side was written 'Kayla' in fancy purple ink. Sitting inside the box was a young doll, maybe even younger than Jessie, with pure white skin, long black hair that shown like silk and silver eyes that were almond shaped. She wore a purple kimono style top that reached her knees and white shoes. This was the doll who Jessie assumed was Kayla and, even though she would make a potential friend, Jessie chose not to approach her. Instead, she kept to her own little corner of the box and stayed silent, that was until she heard the patter of footsteps behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hello. I am Kayla." The doll said in an accented voice. "Are you alright?"

Jessie shook her head before bowing it and soon found Kayla sitting beside her, a stick in her left hand and a plastic shape in the other. Her head was also bowed, and she seemed to be waiting for Jessie to explain herself, which the red-head felt would be a fruitless thing to do. She would just end up working herself into another bout of depression and her story would still not bring Emily back, though on the other hand, getting it all out might help her in the long run of things. Figuring that it was best, she turned to Kayla and was about to speak when she was cut off.

"You lost your owner, too?" Kayla asked innocently, tapping around the box with the stick in her hands. "I did to..."

"I'm Jessie... And I didn't loose her." Jessie said suddenly, speaking of Emily for the first time in a long while. "She grew up... And gave me away."

Kayla nodded her head and frowned, as if she did not understand the concept of that lone explanation. Jessie took notice of this and decided to explain herself a little better to the doll. Taking in a deep breath to keep her voice steady, she began her tale again.

"I was given to my owner as a gift for her sixth birthday... I remember her mom saying that she would soon be to big for little girl dolls, and of course I never believed it. A year went by, and then another and another. Soon she was thirteen, and her interest began to change from toys to boys... And when she was sixteen, she took me out from under her bed again, and I guess she didn't want her old toys anymore." Jessie said bitterly, recalling the events. "So she gave me away for some other little kid... If any little kid would want me."

Kayla nodded her head, and then reached out to tap Jessie's leg with the stick in her hand. Jessie looked over at the other and it was in that moment that she noticed something off with this new doll. Her eyes were a solid silver, with no design or pupil to them what so ever, which would explain why she had that stick with her. She understood why the little girl had given Kayla away now. She was a defected doll, and while it did not put them quite in the same boat, it did float the dolls in the same lake. Jessie sighed heavily and placed her own plastic hand over Kayla's to show that she did understand.

They could be here for a long while, Jessie knew this. She also knew that the odds of one of them being taken away were great, and this thought seemed to replace her earlier nightmares of being donated by Emily. For some reason or another though, knowing that she wouldn't have to go through all of this alone made her life so much more bearable now, and she knew that Kayla must be feeling the same relief, even if she didn't outwardly say it.

They stayed like that for what seemed to be forever, even if it was in reality only twenty minutes. The thing that brought them back though was a loud thumping behind them, signaling that something new had been added to the box.

"What is that?" Kayla asked, turning in the direction of the noise.

Jessie turned around just as quickly and saw that it was an ugly, orange, fuzzy lump. She rose her eyebrow and crawled towards it, mumbling an 'I'm not sure' under her breath as she touched it. It felt like the rug in Emily's room, and this thought alone made a lump rise in Jessie's throat. It was soon forced out though, as the rug began to move and Jessie jumped away from it.

"Holy!" She exclaimed, finally feeling a different emotion other than depression for once. "It moved!"

Kayla gasped and made quick work of backing away to the farthest corner, follow by Jessie. The red-head watched the rug for any other signs of movement. It hadn't moved yet, but there was a definite lump under it now, which was staying perfectly still but soon it began to make a sound, that sounded all to familiar. Jessie, being the curious young woman she was, slowly started towards the rug again.

"Jessie! What are you doing?" Kayla whispered, trying to hear the noise from her spot.

"I'm going to go inspect that." She said, pointing to the rug. "I've heard that sound before back at Emily's once."

Slowly, she crept towards the rug and the closer she came, the louder the sound got. It sounded more and more like the whimper of a dog or puppy. Raising a painted eyebrow, the cowgirl made it to the rug and slowly lifted the edge of the rug and looked under. Under the rug, there was a toy cocker spaniel puppy. She had a name tag that bolded read, Crystal. The toy had patches of super glue on her back that held in place what looked to be mutated wings. Her original tale was nothing more but a nub with a golden retriever tail glued in its place and purple glasses with embellishments, which match her purple crystal eyes had been painted on.

"A puppy!" She announced, reaching under and quickly pulling the squirming dog out. "Oh! You are just the cutest thing ever!"

For the first time since being put in that box, Jessie felt a burst of happiness run throughout her. She didn't know where it came from, all she knew was that it felt good. The puppy seemed to feel the same happiness, and began to yip happily, squirming out of Jessie's arms and prancing over to Kayla to lick her knees. The smaller doll laughed and bent down to carefully pet the dog. Jessie looked over at the two other toys and frowned when their reality hit her again.

They were far from being in the same boat. One toy had been outgrown, the other a defect, and the newest addition had been some kid's sick or innocent idea of an art project. For different reasons, they each had something wrong with them that made their owners give them up, and for some odd force or another, they all ended up here with each other. She suddenly felt a small smile appear on her lips, though in her heart she still felt heavy pain.

She wondered if the new additions to the donation box ever knew the love and safety that she knew. She knew that they all knew what it was like to be abandoned and they would all soon want something that would last forever...A home, and a family for that matter. Leaning against the box again, Jessie shut her eyes and made a silent promise to herself to try and find one. Not just for herself, but for Kayla and Crystal as well. She didn't know them long, but she felt obligated to do at least that much.


End file.
